“You stay, McConnell. If you’re gonna be part of our family you’d best know, you don’t run. Never ever run.” Matt never glanced away from his salsa .

Luke nodded easily. “Balls to the wall, Rory. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.”

Rory laughed, because that was a Navy SEAL saying he actually knew from movies. Luke had a thousand of them.

“Right. Sorry, I forgot to be super macho for a second, but I’m on it now.”

Matt laughed now, the sound bright, almost merry. And Luke said Matt had the nerve to call him an adrenaline junkie.

“Here you go.” The waitress brought their food, handing out super-hot plates. She blinked at Rory. “You want another beer? Jim had to go home, but I’m old enough to serve.”

“Can you bring it with the cap still on, hon?” Matt asked. “He’s particular.”

Luke nodded. “He’s a fancy-assed lawyer.”

“That’s me. Fancy-assed, particular lawyer.” He didn’t roll his eyes. Much.

She giggled and left them, bringing back a new beer and more salsa. “Y’all holler if you need anything else.”

“Man, she’s gonna be sad when the sheriff’s office sends someone,” Luke murmured. “Mmm. Nachos.”

He wasn’t sure he could eat, but he’d be damned if he pussied out with Luke and Matt watching him. Brazen it out. The story of his life.

Besides, the nachos were really good. The chimi came out in one piece, too, and they split it to two plates, so he felt relatively safe.

Before long they were chatting away like monkeys, then a long shadow crossed them. “Can I join y’all?”

Jake Neeley stood there in his sheriff’s uniform, hat in hand.

“Sure, man,” Luke said. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks. Lord, I’m dead on my feet. That chimichanga looks good.”

“The beer is really bitter,” Rory warned .

“Yeah, so I’m told. I’m going to run it to Dallas, LeBlanc. You realize you’re talking a jailable offense.”

“Uh, hello! I’m the one getting screwed with here.”

“You’re the one poking the bear, McConnell. Can’t you just back off and leave us all in peace?”

“No.” No, he couldn’t. Doug Harris had hurt him—body, soul and reputation. He couldn’t just back off.

The bastard deserved everything he got, and Rory was too far into the process now.

Luke stared at Jake. “I imagine if the guys who previously had your job had done something back in the day, this would all be very different. Too bad they were friends with Harris.”

“Well, it’s a damned good thing I’m too young to be,” Jake said, then sighed. “Seriously, mind if I eat? I assume the bartender took off.”

“He did. I remember him from the gala. I was violently sick after.” Rory waved down the waitress. “Sheriff Jake here needs feeding.”

“Hola, Sheriff.” She smiled. “You want chicken suizas ?”

“Nah, I want that chimichanga with queso. ”

“It’s good today. Popular.”

“It looks amazing. Extra rice, please, and just iced tea. I’m off-duty but on-call.”

“Yessir.” She hurried off.

Rory passed Jake the chips.

“Thanks. So, I guess I owe you an apology for the whole truck thing. I let it go too damn quick.”

“Undoubtedly. I’ll forgo it for you keeping me alive.”

“Mmm. We need to do that, and I need to connect this shit to Doug Harris if you think he’s behind it.” Jake held up a hand when he would have opened his mouth. “I don’t doubt it, but I need a reason to run him in specifically.”

“I was going to say I understand. I am a lawyer, you know? I want any charges to stick.” He wanted to destroy the son of a bitch.

“I hear you. This is his second?—”

“Third,” Luke cut in. “That same bartender tried to poison him at the cattlemen’s gala.”

“Right. Okay, we’ll watch him, but we want him, right? You know how hard that’s going to be?”

He stared Jake down. He knew. It was sort of his life’s work.

“I dunno.” Matt smiled a little. “He’s getting pretty reckless.”

Rory had to agree. “He called and threatened me a few days ago. Foamy. I wish I’d recorded it.”

“That would be prudent.” Jake rolled his eyes. “I seriously do not need this shit, man.”

“Your life is too boring, Jake,” Luke said. “You need excitement.”

“Shut up and give me some of your nachos.”

“We got the large so we could all share,” Rory agreed, handing over a rolled silverware set.

“Foresight is the mother of invention or some shit.”

“Indeed.” Rory had to laugh, because Jake was something else. Always had been. And he was one of the youngest sheriffs ever elected in their county, so he wasn’t half-stupid.

Only about a quarter.

He took a deep breath and dug a piece of chicken from his chimichanga, trying to chill the fuck out.

“Drink your beer, babe,” Luke murmured. “It’ll help.”

“You think?”

“I do. This one should just taste like beer.” Luke reached over to squeeze his leg under the table.

“Yeah. That was weird.” And that was the understatement of the fucking decade .

“At least you only had a tiny bit. You feeling sick at all?” Matt asked.

“I pretty much spit it back in the bottle.” Luckily, he wasn’t feeling gross.

“Good deal.” Luke grinned at him, and Rory swore he could read promises in the smile.

Evil promises.

Perfect ones.

Necessary even.

“Stop it.” Matt and Jake said it together, and Luke burst out laughing.

“Sorry,” Rory said for the hundredth time. Even if it was a ‘sorry, not sorry’. He deserved a reward for not jumping up and running in circles, hooting like an owl and slapping his head.

Hopefully, there was an incredibly fine Navy SEAL who intended to reward his happy ass tonight in a most definite sort of way.

He had a good feeling about that.